These projects were constructed in the year 1942 and complete in December of that year. These projects were built in the all-white Little Village neighborhood to house impoverished white families in an experiment that the CHA launched for small scale public housing. These projects consisted of 128 units on a 6.5-acre plot of land all consisting of 2 story row houses.

These projects remained only for whites in the 1940s, 1950s until Mexican and African American families began moving into these units starting in the late 1950s when the Dan Ryan Expressway construction displaced Mexican and black families.

Lawndale Gardens after renovations

By the 1970s the complex was mainly African American as black street gangs like Gangster DisciplesBlack P Stones and Vice Lords moved into these projects and fought Mexican gangs in the community like Latin Kings and Two Sixs. The projects eventually became deteriorated and suffered from high crime and heavy gang activity.

In the year 2000 residents were ordered to leave the projects and by 2009 the projects were renovated and have since become a better place to live.

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Instead of searching one site after another to piece Chicago street gang history together, you can come to Chicago Gang History to see the research Zook has done to compile everything into one source. Keep reading…